Nigel Parkinson, Cartoonist

Saturday, 16 June 2012

Every now and then the right image doesn't turn up on your drawing board first time. Sometimes it can take two goes to get it just so- or even, as in this case, five times!! I'd drawn the cover top left and considered it finished- but then had second thoughts and attempted a redesign with a more dramatic angle (see earlier post). For some reason, I just couldn't get it to my satisfaction and here are several versions all just a little different- I eventually got one that seemed OK, finished it and sent it off with the original coloured one seen here. Why work so hard to provide an alternative? I suppose you could call it professionalism or being conscientious or giving my best for my employer.
The Beano of course chose the more dramatic one. Incidentally, although I sent in two completed designs they only paid me for one so I suppose technically they should have sent back the unused one, but fortunately, I'm happy for them to retain it in their archive and of course trust that they won't illegitimately sell or publish it, I certainly wouldn't expect them to send it back to me at their expense after so many years of dedicated and productive and successful work. . After all, we're all professionals.

1 comment:

Interestingly, Marvel regularly publish unused or rejected covers and pin-ups by Kirby and Ditko which, presumably, they were not paid for at the time.

If DCT were ever to publish your unused images in one of their Beano/Dandy books as 'preliminary cover designs' and didn't pay you for the privilege, would you be a little irked, or consider it to be within their rights?